Scope and content: Records. 1889-1959. 48 linear feet. This collection consists of five series: General Correspondence (1913-1959); Legal Documents (1915-1958); Reports (1916-1940); Subject Files (1939-1950); and Military Personnel Records (1889-1946). The General Correspondence is of the Adjutant General and concerns Fort William Henry Harrison, especially its construction; the organization, induction, and inspection of National Guard units; etc. The correspondence file for 1940 includes a list of all units of the Montana National Guard. The Legal Documents pertain to the maintenance and construction of Fort William Henry Harrison, leases of ranches for military maneuvers, etc. The Reports are findings of armory inspections and reports of sick and wounded. The armory inspection reports include a numerical evaluation of strength and personnel, disciplinary action taken, a list of officers, an assessment of the state of equipment and record keeping, drill ability, a report on target practice, etc. The one Subject File contains information about the Montana Armory Board. The Military Personnel Records series comprises the bulk of the collection and consists primarily of enlistment papers and registration forms. There are two main sections to the Military Personnel Records series: folders of documents about the soldiers arranged by regiment and thereunder alphabetically by surname, and boxes of cards arranged by war, and thereunder alphabetically by surname. The information recorded on the documents and the cards is similar and may concern the same persons. For instance, there may be information about a soldier in the 2nd Montana Infantry Regiment in both the folders under "2nd Montana Infantry Regiment" and under the individual's name in the card file on World War I. The folders of documents in the Military Personnel Records series are arranged in sections by regiment. The first folder in each section contains documents concerning the entire regiment, including strength of the company; previous service rolls; numbers of enlistments, transfers, discharges, and desertions; rifle practice results; recommendations for promotions; payrolls; etc. Individuals' records follow the pan-regimental records. These records include enlistment papers; physical examination reports; oaths of enlistment; vaccination certificates; prior service records; applications for discharge; individual final muster rolls; "memorandum requisition[s] for small-arms qualification insignia"; etc. In addition to these records there are other records filed under each regiment. These vary with each regiment and are most extensive for the 2nd Montana Infantry Regiment. These include muster-in and muster-out rolls; officer oaths; annual records of attendance, officer efficiency reports; and "returns", which include a list of officers, stations of the company, the number of officers and enlisted men, actions and movements of the regiment, and names of absent enlisted men and the reason why they are absent. The bulk of information in the Military Personnel Records series concerns particular information about military personnel. This information can be found in several places in the series: in the individual's enlistment papers in the folders, in the card file, in the three volumes of registers of enlisted men and commissioned officers, in the muster rolls, and in other documents in the series. The information in these documents sometimes is duplicated but each document lists unique information. Common listed information includes an individual's name, rank, age, place and date of enlistment, hair color, eye color, place of birth, height, complexion, occupation, marital status, "character", place and reason of discharge, company, prior service, general remarks, person to contact in case of emergency, signature, and, for officers, date and age at time of commission.; The Montana Adjutant General's Office was established in 1885. The adjutant general was to distribute orders of the commander-in-chief (the governor); report annually to the governor and the President of the United States on the state of the Montana militia, its arms, ammunition, etc.; and report annually to the state auditor on his expenditures. In 1919 the Montana National Guard was reorganized under the Adjutant General's Office. In the 1919 session laws, the adjutant general was given the responsibility to appoint and remove civilian employees of his department; keep a roster of all officers of the state militia; purchase, issue, keep, and preserve the state's military property; attest all commissions; make regulations concerning the adjutant general's duties; keep on file reports and records pertaining to the state militia; etc. The 1947 session laws added the responsibility for the organization and administration of the Montana Home Guard. The Montana National Guard was established in 1885. Organized in companies by county, and composed of men primarily eighteen to forty-five years old, it was intended to suppress insurrection or riot; repel invasion; and enforce the execution of the laws of Montana and the provisions of the United States Constitution. The governor was the sole person empowered to call out the Guard. The 1919 statutes basically repeated these provisions, adding that the Guard could be called up in time of war. The 1947 statutes stated that the prime object of the Guard is national defense, and added that it could be used to preserve order at any large public assemblage; that it could only be called out by the governor upon the written request of a city mayor, a county sheriff, or a district judge; and that the governor could order an enrollment by the counties of all eligible persons. The Department of Military Affairs was created in 1971, consolidating the duties of the Adjutant General's Office, the various units of the Montana National Guard, and the Civil Defense Agency. The adjutant general is the head of the Department.

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Records of the Montana Adjutant General's Office consist of general correspondence (1913-1959) concerning Fort William Henry Harrison and the Montana National Guard; legal documents; armory inspection reports (1922-1940); draft registration cards (1917); muster rolls and personal data (1898-1899, 1904-1917) for several volunteer infantry regiments; and a card file (1898-1945) for enlistments in the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II, including women nurses.